Thrilled to see a familiar face’

SHELBY — Ask his name. His reply in barks could be “Hi, my name is Earl.”

He’s more than a pet for one family in Fancy Gap, Va. He’s family.

Family they’re happy has returned.

Rita Bolen, her husband and three children arrived home earlier this month to find their German shepherd of more than four years gone.

Their small town is near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Earl could’ve been anywhere in the line of mountains or dense forest in the surrounding area after he disappeared March 6.

“I would go out and drive around and yell for him. I’d walk up the mountains and in the woods. My kids thought I was crazy,” Bolen remembered.

The family posted and handed out flyers. People the family didn’t know kept an eye out for Earl.

“There were times I wanted to give up and say he’s gone, he’s dead. But there was this little something that said he’s out there and to keep looking,” she said.

Bolen listened to the hunch.

She heard whispers of two men hitchhiking south along Interstate 77 with a German shepherd that looked like hers.

Two weeks passed. No sign of Earl.

“He’s the greatest dog in the world,” Bolen said of her family’s beloved pet. “He’s very loyal until someone leads him away. He will go away with anyone.”

Two men and a German shepherd

On March 17, Norfolk Southern Railroad Police arrested Justin Bryan, 22, and Chase Ostermann, 23, in the Grover area. Both men were riding on a flatbed train car carrying a tractor-trailer, according to Robin Chapman, director of public relations for Norfolk Southern Corp.

It was about 3:30 p.m.

Both men were charged with trespassing on railroad property, riding a train unlawfully and unlawful impairment of operations of a railroad.

Bryan and Ostermann were booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center that afternoon, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office’s website.

Both men are allegedly from Largo, Fla., Chapman said.

Cleveland County Animal Control took custody of two animals found with Bryan and Ostermann.

One was a German shepherd.

‘I knew it was him’

Shops and businesses posted notices that Earl was missing in Bolen’s home area. His eyes were deep pools of caramel in the poster.

Bolen checked websites of nearby humane societies and animal control shelters. She lost count of how many she checked after 15.

She came across the Cleveland County Animal Shelter’s Facebook page. She clicked through its albums of caged puppies, dogs and kittens.

One showed an animal control worker wearing clear gloves. His hands grazed the rich black and light brown fur of a German shepherd.

Page 2 of 2 - “When I saw him in that picture, I knew it was him,” Bolen said.

Marguerite Mebane, president of the Cleveland County Humane Society, said a Charlotte rescue agency agreed to take the dog.

A phone call from Bolen stopped the exchange.

The reunion

Bolen and her two youngest children drove more than two hours Monday to Shelby. Mebane looked on as Earl leaped energetically toward his family.

The children and Bolen surrounded Earl. He shyly lowered his head as they petted him.

More than two weeks had passed since Earl last saw his family. Bolen said her tears washed away her make-up, leaving only remnants of mascara.

“There was obvious recognition. He was thrilled to see a familiar face, particularly the children,” Mebane said.

It was hard for Bolen to return to work Tuesday after Earl was home for just a few hours. Earl seemed to be in good condition despite shy behavior, a first for him. Bolen said she doesn’t know what all he endured during his absence.

“It worries me if anything happened to him. It’s a mommy thing,” she said. “I plan to have him checked out with a local vet.”

The reunion reminded Mebane pet owners should never stop looking if they’re in similar situations.

She suggested that all pets wear tags or be registered with microchips.